Tag Archives: Yarra Valley

The Vincast with Anthony D’Anna from Boccaccio Cellars and Mondo Imports

Many Melbourne-based wine lovers would be familiar with the name Boccaccio Cellars, as they have regularly advertised in the Epicure lift-out of The Age every Tuesday. The Balwyn-based retailer has been selling wines for nearly 40 years, specialising in Italian wines. Anthony D’Anna, second generation Italo-Australian, has been heavily involved in the family business for many years, not only with Boccaccio but also their winery in the Yarra Valley (Hoddles Creek Estate) and more recently, Mondo Imports working with some outstanding small producers from Italy. He joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about his upbringing and work in the family business, and his perspective on Italian wines in Australia.

Follow Anthony on Twitter & Instagram, and visit his blog Il Vino da Tavola

Follow James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Follow The Vincast on Twitter, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher and make sure to rate and review!

Anthony D'Anna

Anthony D’Anna

1 Comment

Filed under Podcasts

The Vincast with Andrew Marks aka The Wanderer and Melbourne Gin Company

Gembrook Hill was established back in 1983 in the most southern part of the Yarra Valley, and over the past 31 years has built a reputation for producing some of the finest cool-climate expressions in Australia, whilst maintaining an artisan cult status. The second of three children Andrew was the one to follow a career in the wine industry which has led to him working for wineries large and small all around the world. Although he is now very involved in Gembrook Hill with his parents he has more recently started his own winemaking project under The Wanderer moniker and also started producing a gin, which all tie together with his own philosophy influenced by his upbringing and experiences.

Follow The Wanderer on Twitter and visit the website

Follow Melbourne Gin Company on Twitter & Facebook and visit the website

Follow James on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Follow The Vincast on Twitter, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher

Andrew Marks

Andrew Marks

Leave a comment

Filed under Podcasts

The Vincast with Tom Carson from Yabby Lake and Heathcote Estate

The Jimmy Watson Trophy is one of the most coveted and prestigious prizes in Australian winemaking, and for the first time since the 1950s a Pinot Noir has recently taken it out. On this episode I welcome the trophy-winning winemaker from Yabby Lake Tom Carson, who over the past 20 years has established a place in the industry not only for his exceptional skills as a vigneron but also his innovative business insights. We cover his origins, his studies and his path in the industry that has led him to putting pinot noir back on the map.

Follow Tom on Twitter and visit the Yabby Lake website

Follow James on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Follow The Vincast on Twitter, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher

Tom Carson

Tom Carson

Leave a comment

Filed under Podcasts

The Vincast with Luke Lambert

Yarra Valley based Luke Lambert joins me on this episode of The Vincast. Originally from Brisbane he discovered a love of elegant food-friendly wines early on and after being inspired by Italian wines decided to become a winemaker, applying for university from a phone box in London. He explains how he has become one of the leading lights of small batch “hands-off” winemaking in Australia in the space of ten years.

Follow The Intrepid Wino on TwitterInstagram and Facebook

Subscribe to The Vincast on iTunes or Stitcher

Luke Lambert

Luke Lambert

Leave a comment

Filed under Podcasts

Mount Mary Dinner – 17/09/2013

There are more than a few words that get thrown around pretty indiscriminately in the marketing and communication of wine. Words like premium, estate, reserve, authentic, terroir and unique. In most cases it is a pretty empty assertion, rarely can the claim be legitimately justified. Few people can truly say they are a pioneer, but John Middleton certainly can. With a background in the RAAF he found himself in the Yarra Valley as a regional family doctor back in the 1950s. He established the estate, inspired in part by the Swiss settlers of the 1850s (de Castella, de Pury), and the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Tasting Notes, Wine Events

Voyager Estate Masterclass 2013

For the fifth year in a row, Margaret River producer Voyager Estate hosted a masterclass in Melbourne and other Australian cities to benchmark new releases of some of their wines. This was my second time at this event; one of my first entries on this blog spoke about the first time back in September of 2011, just before I left for my trip. The exercise is designed to show sommeliers, buyers and media that Voyager is very confident about the quality of their wine against exceptional examples from around the world. Showing even more hubris, they do this against their three key wines; chardonnay, shiraz and a cabernet/merlot blend. That’s serious chutzpah.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Wine Events

Sommeliers Australia Yarra Valley Sub-regional Tasting – 17/06/2013

The Wanderer Yarra Pinot Noir 2010
Bright red cherry spicy nutty camembert. Soft smooth silky fresh, pure and light, pleasant yet persistent.

The Wanderer Yarra Pinot Noir 2011
More strawberry almost fairy floss sherbet. More acid tightness, bright very brisk and fresh, a bite on the mid-palate, a touch sharp for now.

The Wanderer Yarra Pinot Noir 2012
More closed and tight on the nose, less overt fresh fruit, still red. Rounder smoother yet still some savoury bite, good acids but approachable fruits.

The Wanderer Upper Yarra Pinot Noir 2010
Earthy slightly leathery forest notes mushroom. Soft but full of flavour, long finish, great balance, a little wild.

The Wanderer Upper Yarra Pinot Noir 2011
A tad muted in comparison . Some concentration of tannin and acid, quite mature and tight, another one bites the dust.

The Wanderer Upper Yarra Pinot Noir 2012
Salad with dressing, I think Greek, some soy balsamic savoury notes. Quite wild and raw almost feral, oxidatively handled, still fresh but no primary fruit notes, very against the grain.

Mayer Bloody Hill Pinot Noir 2010
Tight slightly meaty, mushroomy earth. Sweet core of dark red black fruits, purity freshness yet balance savoury open.

Mayer Bloody Hill Pinot Noir 2011
Tighter more earthy mushroom density. Feral barnyard wildness, as un-Yarra Valley as you can get, dare I say Burgundian? Great acid but intense savoury notes.

Mayer Bloody Hill Pinot Noir 2012
Almost chocolatey black forest cherry. Tightly wound briskness and freshness.

Mayer Close Planted Pinot Noir 2010
Intense dirty earthy yet bright and fresh nose. Clean red fruits, classic Yarra Valley style of pinot noir.

Mayer Close Planted Pinot Noir 2011
Slightly more closed, fresh clean lean friendly and open, atypical of the vintage, full and long.

Mayer Close Planted Pinot Noir 2012
Density and earthy savoury notes. Concentration and intense acids, pow punch bold yet light and fresh.

Gembrook Hill Villages Pinot Noir 2010
Tightr closed pale nose. Fresh pure slightly red fruit sweet, pleasant varietal regional character.

Gembrook Hill Villages Pinot Noir 2011
Meaty red tomato savoury raspberries. Zingy acids very tight light and sharp, extremely fresh.

Gembrook Hill Villages Pinot Noir 2012
Very closed and reductive. Too tightly wound for now, acid a little too forward.

Gembrook Hill Pinot Noir 2010
Exquisitely subtle beautifully balanced. Complete yet tight, needs much time, simply stunning. Even better than the first time I tasted it way back in 2011.

Gembrook Hill Pinot Noir 2011
Meaty red sauce again, more concentrated and a little bit flimsy.

Gembrook Hill Pinot Noir 2012
Tight. Focused bright crunchy acids, will open up nicely in time.

Leave a comment

Filed under Tasting Notes

The Wanderer – 13/05/2013

Chenin Blanc 2012
Finesse and elegance, restraint and florals. Clean light fresh, not overly sweet but long.

Rosé 2011
Lovely savoury style. Plenty of personality and excitement, food friendly balanced and long.

Lower Yarra Pinot Noir 2011
Light style characteristic of the vintage, nice savoury fungal game aromas. Vibrant but fresh and intense, tight lean and long.

Upper Yarra Pinot noir 2011
A bit leaner and quieter, but bolder and more intense on the palate. Still very fresh but more contained and potential to be explosive.

Shiraz 2011
Wilder herbal pepper notes, a touch green spice. A little too raw and wild, too much whole bunch, overwhelms fruit.

Carinyena Catalunya 2010
Dense and reflective of variety and region.

Leave a comment

Filed under Tasting Notes

Jamsheed – 13/05/2013

Roussanne Beechworth 2012
Lovely floral quince brightness. Bold textural sweet depth. Very concentrated and generous.

Riesling Great Western 2012
Dense concentrated rich round, not your average riesling.

Healesville Syrah 2011
Lovely smoky ochre toasty. Wild spicy meaty character.

Garden Gully Syrah 2011
Insanely dark deep and intense, interesting celery character on the back.

Leave a comment

Filed under Tasting Notes

Everything new is old again (Yarra Valley, Victoria – 3/05/2013)

Having worked in the Yarra Valley you would think that I knew the region pretty well. Well think again! For one thing it’s not that easy to get out and see a lot of other stuff whilst working, particularly when you don’t even live in the region. For another thing, the Yarra Valley is probably one of Australia’s largest regions geographically, but at the same is disparate and quite sparsely planted. There are many areas that I am still yet to explore outside of the valley floor. The other thing is that the Yarra Valley is possibly one of Australia’s most dynamic regions for wine, constantly reinventing itself with new wineries and winemakers almost every year. For me the exciting thing about this is that it is also one of Australia’s oldest regions, and was the first to gain international recognition back in the 19th century. It was re-established in the 1970s after almost 100 years of ignominy and since then has continued to evolve and develop while maintaining its boutique image. My quest for the day was to visit producers who have only had their own brand for ten years or less but are turning heads for their style and expression that is challenging preconceptions both of the Yarra Valley and Australian wine.

The best view in the valley

The best view in the valley

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Winery Visits